statute

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablelegal

   A law that a parliament or other lawmaking body has passed and written down.

   Grammar: Often a statute of or under a statute.

   Patterns

   • under a statute
   • a statute on something

   The statute makes it illegal to dump waste in the river.

   Under state statute, drivers must carry insurance.

   Congress passed a statute to protect voting rights.

2. 2nounusually pluralformal

   A formal rule of an organization, such as a university or company.

   Grammar: Often statutes: the statutes of the society.

   Patterns

   • the statutes of an organization

   The club's statutes require an annual meeting.

   The university statutes set out how professors are chosen.

   The founders wrote the statutes of the foundation.

Word forms

Common combinations

pass a statute

The legislature passed a statute to cut pollution.

statute of limitations

The statute of limitations had expired.

under the statute

He was fined under the statute.

federal statute

A federal statute governs interstate trade.

repeal a statute

Lawmakers voted to repeal the old statute.

statute book

The rule remains on the statute book.

Synonyms and how they differ

law

Law is the general word and includes rules from courts and custom, while statute means a law written down by a legislature.

act

An act is a statute while it is being passed or when named, as in the Data Protection Act.

bill

A bill is a proposed law that has not yet become a statute.

regulation

A regulation is a detailed rule made by an agency under a statute rather than by the legislature itself.

Opposites

Word family

statutory adjective

required or set by a statute

statutorily adverb

by law

statute-barred adjective

no longer allowed because the time limit passed

Commonly confused: statute or statue? statute or stature?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “statute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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